Mechanism for transmitting power



Jan. 26, 1943. E. E. WEMP 2,309,559

I MECHANISM FOR TRANSMITTING POWER Filed Oct. 20, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet l I LL kmzgwwacw w Jan. 26, 1943. E. E. WEMP MECHANISM FOR TRANSMITTING POWER Filed Oct. 20, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 .E'wmst BY a! WZLUV Jam. 26, 1943. E. E. WEMP 2,309,559

MECHANISM FOR TRANSMITTING POWER Filed 0012-. 20, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Patented Jan. 26, 1943 s "res TENT Fries This invention relates to a mechanism for the transmission of power'to a driven member. The

invention'is directed particularly to an arrangement Where a plurality of drivers are arranged to transmit power through an ,epicyclic gearing to the driven member.

The epicyclic gearing may be considered as involving .three elements, two of which may be gears and the third of which may be the carrier for planet pinions. The two drivers are connected to two of the elements and the driven member is connected to the third. With this arrangement the speed of rotation of the driven member may be determined by the relative speeds of rotation of the drivers. Moreover, the speeds of the drivers may be so relatively adjusted as to impart .no rotation to the driven member, in which case the driven member stands at rest or at zero R. P. M. The drivers, of course, may be prime movers or elements driven by prime movers.

7 Among the objects of the present invention, is the provision of an arrangement for effectively obtaining an at rest condition, or in other words, a status of zero R. P. M. of the driven member, notwithstanding the fact that the drivers or prime movers are not precisely operating at the theoretical relative R. P. M.s as dictated by the epicyclic gearing for establishing zero R. P. M;

for the driven member. To this end a fluid coupling is provided in the power lirie of at least one prime mover or driver and preferably between I the driver and the epicyclic gearing. Such a fluid coupling provides a full torque coupling under proper conditions, but in addition is arranged to provide a substantially zero torque coupling under other conditions. If the impeller and runner of a fluid coupling are rotated at the same speed, the vortex how in the coupling is reduced to zero and there is a zero torque reaction between the impeller and runner. Likewise, small diilerences in speeds between impeller and runner, particularly at low speeds, result in very low torque reactions between impeller and runner. The invention makes use of this characteristic of afluid coupling to insure a substantially zero torque on the driven member at zero pling is used .for two distinct or double purposes.

Moreover, a coupling is preferably provided for atileast' one of the drivers for entirely disconnecting the same for control purposes, and such acoupling may be in the form of either afriction clutch, a clutch embodying a dental or jaw engagement or other connecting means.

The invention finds applicability in connection with internal, combustion engines where there is diificulty in controlling the fuel supply systems thereof with an accuracy such as to. obtain precise relative R. P. M.s, and the accompanying drawings illustrate the invention as associated 7' with internal combustion engines. In these drawings,

Fig. 1 is a horizontal section taken through what may be termedthe transmission, and i1- lu'strating the ends of the crank-shafts of the engines.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the two engines coupled together with the power transmitting means and showing the control mechanism.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectionalview taken through the epicyclic gearing.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on line d-i of Fig. 3.

" speed of the driven member. Thus the fluid cou- Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing some of the control mechanism and taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of a control element takensubstantially on line 6--6 of Fig. 2.

In Fig. 2 there is shown two internal combustion engines l and 2. These are merely diagrammatically illustrated and each has fuelsupply means of any suitable typebut illustrated herein as in the form of a manifold 3 and a carburetor or its equivalent at t for the engine i, and a manifold 5 and carburetor or its equivalent 5 for the engine 2. Each engine may have a projecting housing or bell as a part thereof as illustrated at l and 8. The engines are arranged end to end on the samecaxis and, with the transmission shown, are arranged to rotate in the same direction.

As more clearly shown in Fig. l, a housing 9 is placed between the engines and connected to the bell portions l and 8 thereof, and this housing accommodates the transmission and closes the bell portions.

The crank-shaft of the enginel is illustrated at l5 and attached to which may be the usual flywheel it. A shaft H has one end piloted in the flywheel as illustrated at M, and it is journaled as at 88 in a web 20 of the casing 9. The positive mechanical coupling for one engine may advantageously be incorporated between the crank-shaft l5 and the shaft ii. As shown herewheel.

For the purpose of releasing the'clutch, levers are .provided, one of which is indicated at El.

Each lever is pivotally connected to the pressure plate as at 25 and pivotally connected at 29 to a bracket 30 carried stituted by the members crank-shaft as by means of 42 shown as being in the form her l. The member 66 may have sprocket by the cover plate. A throwout bearing is illustrated at 3| and which is arranged to be shifted to the right, as Fig; 1 is viewed, by a fork 32 arranged to be shifted by a rock shaft 33. The bearing is slidably mounted on an extension 34 carried by the housing 9. It will be observed that upon rocking the shaft 33 the fork 32 may be caused to shift the throw-out bearing to theright, thus to rock the levers on their fulcrums29 and retract the pressure plate for clutch disengaging purposes. The clutch illustrated is merely one of a number of different forms which may be employed, and further detailed consideration thereof is not necessary herein.

The crank-shaft of the engine 2 is illustrated at 35 and the fluid coupling is provided between this crank-shaft and shaft l8. The impeller of the fluid coupling comprises a plate 36 connected to the crank-shaft through the means of an adapter 31, and welded to the plate 36 is a member 38which may be a metal stamping. An enclosure member 39, which may also be a metal stamping, is welded to the member 38 as at 4|], and this member extends inwardly and has a sealed connection with a hub as will presently be seen.

The runner of the coupling is illustrated at, 4| and it may be a metal stamping secured to a hub 42. This hub is journaled or piloted in the a bearing 43 and it has a driving connection as at 44 with the shaft l8, which shaft is journaled as at 45 in a closure plate 46 secured in the casing 9.

The impeller and the runner have facing concavities providing an annular torus chamber andthe concavities are provided with vanes 46 and 41 with close clearances member 39 has a sealed connection with the hub of a metallic bellows 50 secured to the member 39 by a plug 5| and having a nose 52 which engages a friction member such as a ring of carbon 53 which butts up against the flange of the hub. A coil spring 54 maintains a tight engagement at the running faces between the nose 52 and the ring 53. This illustration of the fluid coupling is designed to show a somewhat conventional construction for a coupling of this type. The chamber con- 38 and 39, which is fluid tight, is adapted to be fllled with a suitable liquid such as oil, and the torus chamber is likewise'adapted to be full of the liquid, with the result that torque is transmitted from the engine 2 to the shaft l8 through the fluid coupling.

The epicyclic gearing is advantageously disposed in direct relationship with the two shafts l1 and I8, and this is shownin detail in Fig. 3. One member of the epicyclic gearing, as shown, takes the form of an internal gear 60 having gear teeth 6|, and this gear member may be integral with the shaft |1. Another member which may be integral with the shaft I8 is in the form of a carrier for the planetary pinions, the carrier having flanges 62 and 63 for carryin pins 64 upon which the pinions are journaled. The shaft |8 may be piloted in the shaft II as at 65. The third member of the gearing is illustrated at 66.,ionrnaled as at 61 ontheshaft I3, and it has an internal gear formation with teeth 68. This third member is the driven member, although for the final transmission of the power a final driven'shaft is shown at 10 journaled in the housing 9 and providedwithasprocket memtherebetween. The

teethv 7 her 66 and extend 12 and a chain 13 connects the members 66 and 1|. way of transmitting the power shaft 10. p

The pinions for interconnecting the epicylic members 60 and 66 are arranged in pairs with the teeth of the pinions of each pair meshing with each other, and with one-pinion of each pair having its teeth meshing with the member 60 and the other pinion of each pair having its teeth meshing with the member 66. To this end the members 60 and 66 are spaced axially so as to provide a space therebetween. The gear teeth on the pinion 15 mesh with the teeth on the memout into the space between the members 66 and 60, but this pinion is reduced in diameter so as to clear the teeth on the member 60. Pinion 16 is substantially the same as pinion I5 but is reversed so that the teeth thereof mesh with the gear teeth on the member 60 and project out into the space between the member 60 and the member 66, but clear the teeth 68. This in the upper and lower portions of Fig. 3. Each pair of pinions comprises a pinion l5 and a pinion 16 and their teeth mesh as shown in Fig. 4, this meshing occurring in the space between the members 60 and 66. With this arrangement it will be seen, by reference to Fig. 4, that the engines operate in the same direction of rotation. For instance, as the shaft l8 is'rotating counter-clockwise, then the carrier for the pinions is rotating counter-clockwise, and assuming that the member 66 is stationary, the pinions 15 are rotated clockwise around their This chain structure. of course, is only one to the final driven axes; this results in a counter-clockwise rota- Speed table FORWARD SPEEDS 3 23?? Driven member 1000 2000 0 1100 1900 300 1200 1800 600 underdrive 1300 1700 900 1400. 1600 1200' i 1500 1500 1500 direct 1600 1400 1800 i700 1300 2100 overdrive 1800 1200 2400 REVERSE SPEEDS If the relationship between the engine 2 and engine I is 1 to 2, then the driven shaft stands at zero. As the R. P. M. of engine 2 increases relative to the R. P. M. of engine I, the driven shaft .is operated in a direction which maybe considered the forward direction,

and when the two engines operate at thesame speed there is the equivalent of a direct drive, with the driven is shown respectively the driven member.

member operating at the same speed. For in-' stance, as shown in the table, 1000 R. P. M. for engine 2 and 2000 R. P. M. for engine I results in zero R. P. M.'of the driven member. But if the two engines operate at 1500 R. P. M. then the driven shaft operates at 1500 R. P. M. This arrangement also provides for an over drive, or in other words a situation where the driven member :isoaooe celenated or decelerated. For reverse speeds, the engine l is accelerated and the engine 2 deceler-- shown by the speed table, by widening the R. P, M. ratio between the two engines. In other words, as shown, if engine 2 is decreased in R. P. M. and engine I increased in R. P. M., the driven shaft operates reversely. It is obvious that the R. P. M. of only one engine need be varied to decrease or increase the R. P. M. ratio between the engines toeiiectthe various drives, whether under-driving, direct, over-driving or reverse. v

The control for the engines may advantageously be as illustrated in Figs. 2, 5 and6. Herethe carburetor or other fuel supply means forthe eni e 2 has a control arm 80 and the carburetor for the engine 2 has a control arm 8| which increase the fuel supply as they are rocked clock wise. A rod 82 connects the arm 80 to a control arm 83,while a rod connects the arm 8! to a control arm 05. These two arms are connected to gear segments and Bl journaled on a. shaft 08 and the teeth of which mesh with a pinion 80. -A primary control arm 00 may be connected through a suitable link M to an accelerator treadle or like control element as shown at 92 and the member 00 includes a housing as in which the pinion 8b. is journaled. Other control means is provided for rotatably controlling the pinion 89, and this as shown may be in the form of a Bowden wire 00 extending to a suitably located place for operation thereof, and to one end of which is connected 3, control member 05. This control member may operate over a segment 90, the'bontrol. member being pivoted at 9?, and the ar rangement may incorporate a detent 98 which, as

. is about 13.5% of that transmitted when the imnear as practical, is a msition for determining a ratio between the two engines for providing zero R. P. M. for the driven member.

In a system of the type described wherein there is a divided drive, it is necessary that, in order to transmit torque from the engine 2 to the driven member, a reaction to the torque of the engine 2 must ,be provided by the engine 9, the amount of the reaction being in accordance with J their speed relationship. Also, the engine 2 must provide a reaction to the torque of the engine 5 in. order to transmit the torque of engine 5 to The operation is asiollows: The controlling means for the engine speeds becomes, in efiect, a torque control. The pedal 02 is used to simultaneously increase or decrease the engine speeds 1 while the control 05 determines. the relative R. P. M's. of the engine.- When the speed relationship of the engines is l to 2, the driven shaft is at zero as would'be the case, for example, when the engine R. P. Ms. are 1000 and 2000 R. P. Ms.

respectively. Manipulation of the control 05 may accelerate the e 2 and decelerate the engine (I to thus provide an infinitely variable ratio relative to the driven member. With a satisi'actory ratio obtained, both engines may be acated. The fluid coupling provides a plurality of results. For example, with the engines operat-' tion for the driven member. But even though there is a slight variation, the fluid coupling will slip so as to provide an at rest condition of the driven member with substantially inconsequential torque transmitted thereto. The engine I may be considered the leading engine. To show this the results of tests may be given which are made with a 12% inch diameter fluid coupling. With the leading engine operating at 1000 R. P. M., andtherefore driving the runner at 500 R.

P. M., and the engine 2 driving the impeller within plus or minus 5% 015500 R. P. M., the resulting drag torque was between 2.6 and 7.0 lbs. feet. When the engine 2 was operated'between the extremes of plus and minus 10%, the resulting drag torque was between 5.25 and 8.75 lbs. feet. In prior installations of fluid couplings of this same size and type, it is expected that the impeller operate at about 500 R. P. M. with the runner stalled or when the car is at rest, and this situation results in a drag torque of about 52.5 lbs. feet. It will accordingly be seen that if the engine 2 is controlled within plus or minus 5% of the runner speed in obtaining the zero condition for the driven member, the resulting drag torque peller is operated at about 500 R. P. M., and the runner stalled, and if the control is governed within plus or minus 10% the drag torque is about 16.7% of that of a stalled runner condition.

This small percentage of drag torque is not sufii-' cient to provide any efiective creeping of an. automobile or. other vehicle where, the system is employed in such a vehicle.

The tor uetransmltting relationship between the engines and the driven member may be completely discontinued by the releasing oi the mechanical coupling, shown herein as a iriction clutch. This obviously disconnects the leading engine 9, and since this also removes the reaction torque necessary for the engine 2 to transmit torque to the driven member through the divided drive, the engine 2 is also rendered inefiective. This condition is desirable where it is necessary to tow or push or otherwise move or manipulate a vehicle with its engines at rest, or for that matter with its engines idling.

, I claim:

1. In combination, a, driver, a second. driver, a driven member, epicyclic gearing having three members, means connecting the driven member to one of the members of the epicyclic gearing,

means connecting one driver to another of the epicyclic gearing, a fluid coupling connecting the other driver to the third member of the epicyclic gearing, control means for substantially simultaneously increasing and decreasing the power output'oi' the two drivers. said control means including means for varying the power output of to vary their relative 4- the two drivers relative to each other whereby lish variable speed and torque ratios between the drivers and driven member and to theoretically establish a relative rotation between the drivers for establishing zero speed of rotation of the driven member, said fluid coupling adapted to slip for obtaining zero speed of rotation of the driven member when the drivers are adjusted to approximate relative speeds for zero speed of rotation of the driven member and said fluid cou- -pling adapted .to absorb shock upon sudden change in the speed ratio between the drivers.

2. In combination, a driver, a second driver, a driven member, epicyclic gearing having three members, means connecting the driven member to one of the members of the epicyclic gearing, means connecting one driver to a second member of the epicyclic gearing, a fluid coupling for connecting the other driver to the third member of the epicyclic gearing, a releasable mechanical coupling in the connection between one driver and the epicyclic gearing,'.control means for substantially simultaneously increasing and decreasing the power output of the two drivers, said control means including means for varying the power output of each other whereby to vary their relative speeds of rotation to establish variable speed and torque ratios between the drivers and driven member and to theoretically establish a relative rotation between the drivers for establishing zero speed of rotation of the driven member, said fluid coupling adapted to slip for obtaining zero speed of rotation of the driven member when the drivers speeds of rotation to estabthe two drivers relative to are adjusted to approximate relative speeds for zero speed of rotation of the driven member and said fluid coupling adapted to absorb shock upon sudden change in the speed ratio between the drivers.

3. The combination with two internal combustion engines and a driven member, of an epicyclic gearing having three members, means connecting one member of the epicyclic'gearing to the driven member, means including a fluid coupling for connecting one engine to a second member of the epicyclic gearing, means connecting the other engine to the third member of the epicyclic gearing, a releasable coupling in the connection between one engine and the epicyclic gearing, control means for substantially simultaneously increasing and decreasing 'the power output of the two engines, said control means including means for varying the power output of the two engines relative to each other whereby to vary their speeds of rotation relative to each other to establish variable speed and torque ratios between the engines and the driven member and whereby the two engines may be given relative speeds of rotation approximating the ratio for establishing zero speed of rotation of the driven member,

said fluid coupling being adapted to slip when the two engines have a speed ratio which approximates that ratio for giving zero speed of rotation of the driven member to thus obtain zero speed of rotation of the driven member and said fluid coupling adapted to absorb the shock incident to a sudden change in the speed ratio between the engines.

' ERNEST E. WEMP. 

